Paying the Piper
by Ladyamesindy
Summary: The Collector base has been destroyed. It is now time for Commander Jayce Shepard to 'pay the piper.' Next installment of the Commander Jayce Shepard series.


_**Latest installment in Commander Jayce Shepard's story. Post ME2, Pre ME3.**_

* * *

Shepard stood at the _Normandy_ airlock, her exhausted, beaten and bruised body leaning heavily against the framework for support as she watched her companions depart with mixed emotions. The fact that she and the _Normandy_ were there in that port of call, in and of itself, was miraculous given the extraordinary undertaking they had just completed. The Collectors were done and gone, their base nothing but mere wreckage to join that of all the ships that for centuries had made the attempt to voyage through the Omega-4 Relay.

And not a moment too soon.

Shoulders trembling slightly, Jayce tried to ignore the flashbacks of that last fight; flashbacks that continued to haunt her dreams during both sleeping and waking hours. _A human reaper._ And the Illusive Man had wanted to keep the base intact!

Another round of tremors coursed through, stopping only when the weight of a heavy hand settled at her shoulder. Jayce knew that hand, the weight of it more familiar with a sniper rifle than in comforting a human soldier, she guessed, but it was a welcome distraction from the direction her thoughts were taking just then. Turning, she eyed her friend.

"Illium, huh?" Garrus asked.

Jayce couldn't help but grin. "Better than Omega," she offered. "At least here you won't have to worry about bumping into remnants of mercenary groups that might still be holding a grudge."

The turian chuckled as he hefted his duffle onto his shoulder. "There is some truth in that," he replied by way of agreement. A moment later, he sighed and shook his head. "You going to be okay?"

Jayce's brow tilted in curiosity. "Shouldn't I be?" she asked.

"It's not everyday that you surrender yourself to Alliance Command to be charged with war crimes," he reminded her soberly. "I don't know about the Alliance, but in the turian military? I'd be a little worried."

Jayce sighed, her eyes dropping. She couldn't hide the fact she _was_ just a bit worried at what the future might hold - she would be a fool to NOT be worried - but she had taken a chance, trusting that right would prevail. It would be a fight. She knew that. The batarians would want blood in return for the destruction of Aratoht. Her track record with them wasn't very good to begin with, either, and there was no doubt in her mind that it would come into play as well. But ultimately, she was counting on two things to hold her through: the first was that she WAS still Alliance and would prove that by turning her ship and (remaining and willing) crew over to them in a gesture of good faith; the second was more instinct based on a brief message that had inspired hope.

"What else can I do, Garrus?" she asked. "They need someone to be the face for what happened out there. If I don't …." She shuddered again, though this time at the thought of what the batarians might do if she didn't turn herself in. Rumor had it they wanted vengeance - war - blood for blood. In the end, Jayce knew it was all just a distraction from other, more important things, and the timing of it couldn't be worse. Yet, she also realized that no one - from the Council to Alliance Command to the majority of the galaxy - was taking her warnings of the Reaper threat seriously. Only a select few, most of whom had served with her as she'd found out, were fully committed to preparing.

"I know I don't need to remind you of this," Garrus told her quietly, "but you _were_ acting on Hackett's orders."

Jayce laughed once, a sound that was overflowing with the weight of irony of the situation. "Actually, Garrus, I wasn't. He asked me to help, yes, but it was a personal favor." She glanced up, saw his plates shift into something she interpreted as a look of surprise. "I was not ordered to go. The choice was mine to make."

"What made you decide to go?"

Folding her arms across her chest, Jayce took a long moment to think about his question. It was a good one. "The batarians were involved," she pointed out. "That had my curiosity piqued, but it wasn't the driving force. The more important aspect was that Dr. Kenson was looking for a Reaper artifact. She'd gone missing, was imprisoned by the batarians. All sorts of alarm bells were triggered by that." She shrugged as her eyes met and held his. "You know as well as I do that we still need information on them. We needed _some_thing to prove to the Council at least that the Reapers aren't just some scary story created to frighten children into good behavior."

Garrus nodded. "I also know that nothing good has ever come out of any situation like that."

"Commander," EDI's voice broke in, "those of the crew who were to disembark upon Illium have done so. Preparations for our departure have been made."

Jayce sighed and straightened. "And the … cargo we were leaving for transport?" She tried not to think of the two individuals who were inside the crated caskets.

"It has been removed."

"Thanks, EDI."

Closing the distance between them, Jayce offered her turian friend a smile. "Things will work out for the best," she told her friend. "I have to believe that. If I begin to doubt …."

Garrus straightened, nodding his understanding. "I get it, Shepard," he assured her. "Just … you and I both know that placing too much trust and faith in the system will only end up with -"

Jayce chuckled, her hand reaching out to lightly punch at his shoulder. "Garrus Vakarian, turian cynic," she teased. "There's your new job right there."

His amusement echoed hers. "Yeah, well. You could say I've had a good teacher," he countered.

"Hey, I wasn't _that_ bad!"

Garrus smirked. _Can turians even smirk?!_ Jayce thought briefly. "Only a time or two," he acquiesced. Another moment of silence settled over them as Garrus hefted the shoulder strap to his bag and finally stepped away from the airlock.

"Palaven?" Jayce couldn't keep from asking quietly as she watched him leave.

He sighed and she took a step backwards as he nodded. "It's as good a place as any right now," he admitted. "Besides, I owe my father an explanation or two about my behavior over the past couple of years."

Jayce smiled. "Good luck with that," she offered.

Their eyes met and held one last time. "Somehow," he mused thoughtfully, "I think I have a better chance at success than you." He sighed. "Good bye, Shepard. May the Spirits watch over you."

Jayce felt a wave of unexpected and raw emotion surge through her at his heartfelt blessing. Unable to voice a response, she simply nodded and turned to move inside the ship, the door closing behind her. If there was one thing she could take away from this venture, ignoring all the hullabaloo of her return and the entanglements involved with that, it was that she now knew just who her true friends were.

"Commander?"

Joker's call captured Jayce's attention and she turned to step onto the bridge.

Green eyes met violet as he asked, "Now?"

Breathing in deeply, Jayce nodded. "Set a course for Omega," she told him. "I have a promise to keep."

The booted steps that echoed throughout the CIC as she walked through and made her way to her cabin were the only assured sound in the ship just then.


End file.
